Monthly Archive: August 2012

Those close to me know that I’m a pretty intense animal lover. My travel partner, Erin, would probably substitute “lover” with “freak,” but that’s neither here nor there. So, when given the opportunity to go on a 4-day safari in Kruger National Park, I was pumped! Erin, Liz (Erin’s friend from college who met …

I’m not much of a beach person. In theory, I love the concept—long days of laying in the sun, my hair naturally lightening, drinking cold beers alongside beautifully tanned, skinny friends—but unfortunately, I was not blessed with the gift of melanin. My Scottish/Irish/German/generalized cold, dark-dwelling ancestors didn’t anticipate a migration west, and therefore I am …

For those of you dreaming of backpacking in Africa, I must share an overall observation/opinion—it’s more expensive than you’d think. Here are a few specifics that I’ve experienced along the way: Destinations of interest are often located just far enough apart that you must weigh the benefits of a pricey flight against a 12+ hour …

As I frantically kicked my flipper-covered feet below me in the open ocean I looked over to Erin and announced the obvious: “This is, in part, my worst nightmare.” We’d been relaxing in the small beach town of Jambiani, Zanzibar where the water is crystal clear and the locals mercilessly hound you to eat at …

The thing about climbing a mountain is that once you’ve reached the top, you have to come back down. All the way back down. In this case, it was approximately 15 miles and while we took seven days to get up, the opposite trip was accomplished in one. Some members of our group felt that …

We had been trudging uphill for over 6 hours in sub-freezing conditions when we finally saw the legendary sign. We had reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro! Or so we thought. In a final dirty trick, some genius felt that “Stella Point” was worth marking and affectively crushed the souls of every hiker to attempt …